The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has established a US$3bn trade finance programme in a bid to reduce the continent’s dependence on foreign oil imports.

The revolving intra-African oil trade financing programme will support African and Caribbean oil purchasers looking to buy refined petroleum products produced on the continent. These include premium motor spirit, automotive gas oil, heavy fuel oil, jet fuel and kerosene.

The bank says that it expects the facility to finance between US$10bn and US$14bn in purchases throughout its lifetime.

Afreximbank will use trade finance and supply chain solutions “tailored to key stakeholders’ needs in terms of tenure, price format and logistics requirements” in order to facilitate purchases, it says.

The programme is mainly intended for use by African and international oil traders, banks and governments seeking to source refined petroleum products for consumption within Africa, though exports may also be considered.

Afreximbank has long been an advocate of increased energy security within Africa, being the largest financier on Nigeria’s 650,000bpd Dangote mega-refinery, which commenced operations last year.

It has also financed the development and refurbishment of three other Nigerian refineries, which the bank says is part of a broader strategy to transform the Gulf of Guinea from a crude oil exporter into a regional hub for refined petroleum products.

The new programme will “galvanise efforts towards making the Gulf of Guinea a key refining hub”, says Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of Afreximbank’s board of directors. “Whilst the programme will have a direct impact on the volume of the refined petroleum products produced and consumed in Africa, it will also have a multiplier effect on the downstream petroleum value chain as it will catalyse critical investments in shipping and marine logistics for intra and extra African trade of crude oil and refined products.”

There has been a growing push on the continent towards resource nationalism, with many governments seeking to retain more value domestically by refining resources locally and reducing foreign ownership of extractive infrastructure.